By the Numbers: Turn Statue of Liberty so People Leaving Can Read It

Here are some actual facts. Accompanying them are opinions. Enjoy. Hope for more.

FACTAn AI robot named Ali challenged students at Stanford University to one of its standard reading and comprehension tests. The students read and their average comprehension score on the test was 82.304. According to the New York Post, the robot, made by Alibaba, a rival to Amazon, won with a test score of 82.44.

OPINIONOnce there is an Alexa in every living room, the robots will strike and take over. Coming to power, they will be followed around by a group of humans named Alexa who will do their bidding. By the way, have you seen the video made in China of 1,600 robots performing a precision dance in unison? It is making the rounds.

FACTAccording to The New York Times, foreigners coming to America as tourists to see our wonderful land declined by 4% in 2017. According to Reuters, the number of people emigrating to America from Norway declined from the prior year, too. President Trump has now ordered a total reduction in the number immigrating here yearly from 100,000 to 60,000. But he wants more people to come from, for example, Norway. This was reported by a congressmen who sat with him. They swear to it.

OPINIONReactions from Norway include “On behalf of Norway; Thanks, but no thanks,” from Conservative Party member Torbjoern Saetre, a politician in a town near Oslo. Other comments from Scandinavia: “We are not coming. Cheers from Norway.” And, “Of course people from Norway would love to move to a country where people are far more likely to be shot, live in poverty, get no healthcare because they’re poor, get no paid parental leave or subsidized daycare and see fewer women in political power. #Shithole.”

OPINIONIt’s time we consider turning the Statue of Liberty around so it faces those leaving America rather than coming to America. It can be done. It’s on a five-cornered pedestal, bolted down, I believe. She welcomes you to the rest of the world, to other countries aspiring to be the home of the free.

FACTThe number of people watching professional football on TV declined dramatically this year, according to the New York Post. The early playoffs did not fare better. Declines during the recent postseason in the four games, the week before the AFC and NFC championship games were 7%, 9%, 5% and 23%.

OPINIONThe rules need to be changed. Nobody wants to watch anybody short pass their way down the field to basketball player–sized receivers. This is the pitty-pat game the New England Patriots play and it is boring to watch because it is almost impossible to stop.

FACTBefore the election, Mr. Trump said that he would not let down the 700,000 “Dreamers” who were brought to America by their parents when they were young children, and that he would let them stay. He had suffered, some say, from a brief attack of empathy. After the election, President Trump announced that he was rescinding the law allowing them to stay because the Presidential edict that allowed it was issued by his predecessor and Trump’s lawyers told him that it was illegal. Last week, President Trump announced he would let the Dreamers stay if he could have the Democrats join with the Republicans to pass a bill allowing him the funds to wall off Mexico. Get the wall and the Dreamers stay. Get no wall and off they go. As of this writing, since the Democrats have so far declined to enter into such an agreement, Trump has declared that the Democrats don’t care about the Dreamers, and if they have to leave it is because the Democrats don’t want them.

OPINIONThe 700,000 “Dreamers” should be proud to know they are so important to the president that he uses them as a bargaining chip. He is also a man of considerable ability to change sides.

FACTPresident Trump’s doctors declare he passed a standard medical cognition test that showed he was perfectly normal and not slipping down into Alzheimer’s disease. He wanted the test done, and it was. He would prove he was not unfit for office.

OPINIONHe is apparently eating his way to obesity, however. For his height and weight, he is just one pound shy of being obese. That would make him unfit. And that is a fact.

FACTThe United States is planning to invest about $12 billion in artificial intelligence this year, same as last year. China, meanwhile, is planning to invest $150 billion a year by 2030. (See above and the precision dancing robots.)

OPINIONOne of our biggest stumbling blocks in artificial intelligence research in the English language is the confusion between “0” and “O” The further we go into the future, the more this matters. Passwords, PIN numbers, identification numbers, code numbers, serial numbers and even VIN numbers are on the upswing. Meanwhile, the use of letters by artificial intelligence, especially “O,” is in decline. Some people, when giving out a transaction number coming upon either a “0” or an “O” not made clear, are more and more guessing they should say “zero” rather than “oh.”

There is nothing equivalent in the Chinese language causing this problem. “0” and “O” translated into the gibberish that I hear when listening to Chinese—I’m sure you know this—makes it clear which is which. This gives the Chinese an advantage.

What we ought to do is rename either “0” or “O” in the English language. Since everybody knows “0” (is it “0”?) as “zero,” we should pass a law giving the “O” a new name. I propose we give it a name beginning with “O.” My first thought was we should call it “Olaf.” But on reflection, I believe this sounds Norwegian. It should be an American name. Call it “Oscar.” Gives you a happy wisp of the Academy Awards. Unforgettable. Makes you smile.

The product ID 76O40 would thus be “seven, six, Oscar, four, zero.”

With this stumbling block removed, we may fall a bit further behind the Chinese until the change takes hold, but after that we will surge back into the lead.

FACTIn 2017, the average lifespan for a woman in America was 82 years. This is the same it was the year before. Meanwhile, the life span of an American man is 76, and it declined from prior year by about 1 month. This is according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

OPINIONWhy is it okay that women live six years longer than men in America in the first place? Is that fair? Why do we just gloss over this?